Hello, all. I am new to welding, and just got my Clarke 90EN welder today - before I'm teased about this, my basic reason for learning to weld is to repair the body panels on my old clunker car. I have no indoor area in which to weld, and will be doing all outside. After studying a lot on the internet, I decided to go with the Clarke 90EN, which, if I really get into this, can be converted to gas as well. Anyway, in the course of my reading, I am also reading about the differences in various brands of flux core wire, as well as the classifications, etc. My welder comes with a small spool of wire. I'm assuming that, by practicing, I'm going to run through this spool pretty quickly, and would like to order more. I went on to ebay uk, but none of the flux core wires there indicate who makes them, or anything about this classification. I was wondering if anyone could guide me regarding a wire that is good/easy for a newbie to learn on, and that would provide a decent weld. Thanks for any direction you can give me.
- Thread starter Bex
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gaz1
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you may find that the 90en may not have enough power to do other than your panels something i myself learnt this by reading up on this forum first and then posting a question upon it
after i bought the clark 150en gas and i also have the sip 150 gasless/gas and the sip 130 gas migs
thoe i also have kept the arc welder that i have also as comes in handy
on reading others about gasless wire they have said they do use it only for outside jobs as helps but can also hinder the job ive also bought the ones from ebay not used yet
further advice i can give you is use the boc value gas price more than the pub bottles from my reading up
now ive used gasless wire and to me it heats up very similar to the arc welder but thats me
anyway welcome to the site thoe
after i bought the clark 150en gas and i also have the sip 150 gasless/gas and the sip 130 gas migs
thoe i also have kept the arc welder that i have also as comes in handy
on reading others about gasless wire they have said they do use it only for outside jobs as helps but can also hinder the job ive also bought the ones from ebay not used yet
further advice i can give you is use the boc value gas price more than the pub bottles from my reading up
now ive used gasless wire and to me it heats up very similar to the arc welder but thats me
anyway welcome to the site thoe
Thanks for the info. Actually, I'm looking more for information regarding the different types of flux core wire that you can buy. I'm reading about classifications, like whether you can weld flat, or all positions, tensile strength, etc. But even aside from that, on other forums people advise that there is a difference in quality between manufacturers, some wire is easier to use than others, etc. I went on to ebay to try to buy wire to practice with, but they give no information other than the size of the wire (I'm assuming at 0.030 is the same as .8 and .08 that is indicated on ebay and other sites). I was wondering if there is any brand of wire that is recommended; whether you should stay away from 'cheap' ebay wire, etc., and whether the brand of wire really makes any difference. Thanks.
I'm a bit confused, see. I understand that this wire comes rated - regarding usability, single pass or otherwise, all positions, etc. And yet, with all the wire that is advertised on the net, it seems that none of them provide this information when you're looking at wire. Some sites indicate to stay away from wire that is rated 'GS' without any usability number - the GS meaning properties not specified/single pass only. Others say to only use wire with a usability number of 11 or more. Some people say the Lincoln wire is good - others have difficulty with it; some say that Pinnicale is the best and cleanest flux core; others recommend Radnor - but all say that the wire is quite important, as it can make your welding ok, or very frustrating. So, should I not be looking for the brands or the specs for the wire? Is it not really important? Should I not care about tensile strength, position or slag systems??? My welding is going to be fairly lightweight body panels - .8mm wire.
If you are interested in different flux-core wires and what they are for, take a look at Lincoln's range here:
http://www.lincolnelectric.com/en-gb/consumables/flux-cored-wires/Pages/flux-cored.aspx
Personally I've found Lincoln Innershield NR-211MP fine for car bodywork, although it does like very clean metal to give best results. I had a roll of Sealey general-purpose stuff at one time, A5.20 Class E71T, a GS type, and that was quite reasonable, all things considered. But the Lincoln is superior on thin metal, and the flux slag can be easily brushed off. In fact you can hardly call it slag, more like a thin powder.
Just steer clear of the screwfix/b&q/and ebay offerings unless it's a well-known make, as cheap wire can be variable in quality. It's hard enough making a decent job on bodywork with flux-core without having the wire playing up.
http://www.lincolnelectric.com/en-gb/consumables/flux-cored-wires/Pages/flux-cored.aspx
Personally I've found Lincoln Innershield NR-211MP fine for car bodywork, although it does like very clean metal to give best results. I had a roll of Sealey general-purpose stuff at one time, A5.20 Class E71T, a GS type, and that was quite reasonable, all things considered. But the Lincoln is superior on thin metal, and the flux slag can be easily brushed off. In fact you can hardly call it slag, more like a thin powder.
Just steer clear of the screwfix/b&q/and ebay offerings unless it's a well-known make, as cheap wire can be variable in quality. It's hard enough making a decent job on bodywork with flux-core without having the wire playing up.
